The Da Vinci rebellion

How is such a universally panned movie doing so well at the box office? Too early to conclude, but I'm convinced the uproar caused by (mainly) Catholic critics of the film have done much to raise its "The Da Vinci Code's" financial profile (from Nikki Finke's Deadline Hollywood Daily):

Sony Pictures told me exclusively this morning that Da Vinci Code earned $224 million worldwide, making it the second biggest opening weekend of all time worldwide. (The only movie that did better was Star Wars 3, the last of the prequels, with $254 mil). That DVC figure broke down to $147 mil internationally, and $77 mil domestically. The studio told me that the film is the No. 1 all-time opening weekend internationally. DVC was #1 in predominantly Catholic countries Italy and Spain, and #1 or #2 in every South American territory. Sony execs explained to me that the reason for the huge success is that "young people" including teens were going to see the film worldwide as well as adults. But all audience segments were doing well, even infrequent filmgoers. "We are absolutely thrilled with the worldwide opening of this movie and it’s a true international event," the chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment's Motion Picture Group, Amy Pascal, told me Sunday morning.

And why are so many kids seeing the flick? Likely because they were told not to by cultural authoritarians. Hard to figure why those types continue to provide free promotion to movies, TV shows, etc. they don't want you to see.